What could be more appropriate, as Trader Vic's founder, Vic Bergeron, invented one of cocktaildom's favorite rum drinks, the mai tai, in 1944?

Free of charge and set to run from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at the historic tiki-themed restaurant, the "Women Leading Rum Panel" will feature three leading rum-industry figures: Kiowa Bryan of Spiribam Rum Specialists, Karen Hoskin of Montanya Distillers, and Kate Perry of La Maison and VELIER.

Hoskin began bartending at age eighteen at what she remembers as "a busy dive bar in Bar Harbor, Maine." Since opening Montanya, her own 100 percent wind-powered and carbon-offset craft-rum distillery, in the Colorado mountains ten years ago, she has designed and launched four craft rums, created thousands of original rum cocktails, and written two books about craft rum and cocktails. She has also been an activist in the realms of sustainability and gender diversity in craft distilling.

The California Rum Fest itself is set for Saturday, Sept. 8 at San Francisco's SOMArts Cultural Center. Guests will receive the chance to sample over forty rum-brand expressions from around the world, and attend relevant seminars.

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